This year's budget cutting round was finished up on Wednesday night when the board voted to adopt the cuts recommended by the budget committee with a few modifications from the superintendent. Most difficult among the cuts are the elimination of multiple support staff positions, including special and regular educational assistants library and clerical staff along with two special education teachers. The loss of these positions will increase the demands on the teaching staff and reduce the time they can dedicate to each student. More on the list can be found here.
In other big news the Board approved a six year lease and joint operating agreement with the Madison School District to operate their Nuestro Mundo Charter School in the Maywood Building. This K-5 program is a dual language immersion program (English & Spanish). Five spots will be available for Monona Grove students in each grade, starting next year with kindergarten.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Good for Jason...
We got the news that Board member Jason McCutcheon has accepted a position in Springfield, MO, starting in a few months. As a result Jason will be resigning his seat on the board come the end of April.
Jason always brought a valuable perspective to our debates, and worked hard - never shying away from the tough assignments. We didn't always agree, but I felt I could always work more constructively with Jason than anyone else on the board.
Good luck Jason!
Jason always brought a valuable perspective to our debates, and worked hard - never shying away from the tough assignments. We didn't always agree, but I felt I could always work more constructively with Jason than anyone else on the board.
Good luck Jason!
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Saving me the trouble
The WSJ saves me the trouble of a long post explaining the situation regarding the Nuestro Mundo charter school and Maywood.
In brief: we are negotiating a 6 year lease and a joint operating agreement that will allow the Nuestro Mundo charter school to relocate in Maywood. Our district would receive $165K in rent and space for up to 5 MG students per grade, starting with Kindergarten this fall.
The Nuestro Mundo Charter School is a successful K-5 elementary program that features dual language immersion to provide bi-lingual education to its students.
In brief: we are negotiating a 6 year lease and a joint operating agreement that will allow the Nuestro Mundo charter school to relocate in Maywood. Our district would receive $165K in rent and space for up to 5 MG students per grade, starting with Kindergarten this fall.
The Nuestro Mundo Charter School is a successful K-5 elementary program that features dual language immersion to provide bi-lingual education to its students.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Budget meeting schedules.
Once again it is time for our public hearings for input on the proposed budget reductions for next year.
The three public hearings will be held:
Saturday, March 17, 9-11am, Winnequah Cafeteria
Tuesday, March 20th, 6-8pm, High School Auditorium
Thursday, March 22nd, 6-8pm, Glacial Drumlin IMC.
The list of proposed items for reduction can be found here.
See you there!
The three public hearings will be held:
Saturday, March 17, 9-11am, Winnequah Cafeteria
Tuesday, March 20th, 6-8pm, High School Auditorium
Thursday, March 22nd, 6-8pm, Glacial Drumlin IMC.
The list of proposed items for reduction can be found here.
See you there!
Shaken
My heartfelt condolences go out to the family caught up in the tragedy that visited our school community last week. This event left me shaken; I have two children at this vulnerable age, and the imagination quickly runs to the unthinkable.
And although I've thought about it quite a bit I have been at a loss as to what to say here. I do view this event as a failure of the school district and the school board. What could we have done or should do to prevent a recurrence? I don't know. But I do know that our students spend a significant portion of their time in our care, and we have an obligation to provide a environment that provides physical and emotional security for each, regardless of the other factors in their lives. The fact that this occurred indicates to me that we have failed at that goal. We need to carefully consider what might be done moving forward.
For a view of how a school board can impact school climate you might check out this article in Rolling Stone. The article is not uncontroversial, and has a different focus, but to me it illustrates how what happens on the school board can directly influence school climate in positive or negative ways.
And although I've thought about it quite a bit I have been at a loss as to what to say here. I do view this event as a failure of the school district and the school board. What could we have done or should do to prevent a recurrence? I don't know. But I do know that our students spend a significant portion of their time in our care, and we have an obligation to provide a environment that provides physical and emotional security for each, regardless of the other factors in their lives. The fact that this occurred indicates to me that we have failed at that goal. We need to carefully consider what might be done moving forward.
For a view of how a school board can impact school climate you might check out this article in Rolling Stone. The article is not uncontroversial, and has a different focus, but to me it illustrates how what happens on the school board can directly influence school climate in positive or negative ways.
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